Following a proposal from the graduate school's partner representatives, during spring 2025 three external reviewers evaluated SWEAH's operations during the period 2022-2024.
– We are very satisfied with the positive results of this important evaluation, which will pave the way for a renewed collaboration agreement between partner universities across Sweden. The evaluation is insightful and provides us also with some critical remarks and useful recommendations for the future, says SWEAH’s Coordinator Susanne Iwarsson.
Main points from the evaluation:
• Core outcomes: inter- and multidisciplinary, network building and independence building capacity
• Support to postdoctoral researchers is unique and strong
• High quality curriculum and strong quality assurance
• Documentation of processes and outcomes in published empirical studies
• Relevant and ambitious, but (too) complex strategic plan
• Excellent organization and management
• Funding well spent with a high return on investment
Recommendations for the future:
• Strongly recommend continuation, with Lund as the coordinating university
• The challenge of recruiting a new Coordinator needs immediate action
• More partners could/should be engaged, across Sweden and in other Nordic countries
• More doctoral students, changing the composition of disciplines represented
• Strategies to increase societal impact
• Internationalization could be deepened
• Quantitative indicators of academic and societal impact should be developed and used
Will pave the way for a renewed collaboration agreement between partner universities
The review committee, consisting of Professors Clemens Tesch Römer, Marja Jylhä and Kerstin Tham, based their evaluation on the comprehensive self-evaluation that SWEAH's management developed during fall 2024. The evaluators conducted online interviews with Vice-chancellors, partner representatives, supervisors and alumni in March and with PhD students and other key persons during a site visit in Lund during the SWEAH PhD Student Days in April 2025.
During the summer, the reviewers delivered their report and in connection with the board meeting in September-October, the recommendations were analyzed and discussed by the board and the management team during a strategic workshop.
Following the workshop, decisions were made during a formal board meeting. Based on this, SWEAH’s Coordinator and management team will launch the process towards establishing a renewed partner agreement, which will be valid from Jan 1, 2027.
Read the full evaluation report
